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Democratic senators put on quite a show Thursday at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing. Desperate for a "gotcha" moment that would disqualify the Trump nominee, the senators asked pointed questions and gave lectures about transparency. But, they embarrassed themselves in the process. Sen. Cory Booker (NJ) got the loudest laugh.Booker's theatrics came at the very beginning of the hearing. He interrupted Chairman Chuck Grassley's opening remarks to announce that he had broken Senate rules and released "committee confidential" documents about Kavanaugh's opinions on racial profiling. He even referred to himself as "Spartacus," as if he was some kind of...

Sen. Orrin Hatch wants the world to know he’s very much alive after a Google search results snafu had declared the 84-year-old Utah Republican dearly departed. On Monday night, Hatch’s office pointed out the news of the senator’s “death” via the search engine. Pulling from a faulty Wikipedia entry, Google had declared that Hatch passed away last September. Matt Whitlock, Hatch's spokesman, tells ITK, “When Sen. Hatch first heard of his passing he was quite alarmed. Having advanced four major bills last night he was surprised to hear that he may have been dead the whole time.” Hatch’s office tweeted...

Former presidential nominee Mitt Romney recently hosted a donor meeting for former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz who has been reportedly considering a run for president as a Democrat in 2020. Politico’s Ben Schrekinger said the event did not go well and that many left uninspired by the potential nominee. “Will there be some segment of the customer base that decides, ‘I’m not going to go to Starbucks anymore should he become a candidate,” Mark Kalinowski, president of Kalinowski Equity Research, asked Politico. “You have to think about the employees. You have to think about the shareholders, everybody who might be...

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz — who is contemplating a presidential run as a Democrat — recently attended a private gathering of political donors organized by Mitt Romney, according to a report at Politico. Politico’s Ben Schrekinger writes that the donors, “convened by” Romney, were unimpressed with the would-be candidate: Wall Street analysts are wary, and company leadership is nervous, about the effect a Democratic bid by its chairman emeritus could have on Starbucks’ business, given its bipartisan customer base. If that weren’t discouraging enough, his retirement last month set off a boomlet of pundits urging him not to run. And...

Republican lawmakers were left shaking their heads after President Trump’s Monday’s press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin, in which Trump declined to endorse the American intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Senator John McCain (R., Ariz.) called it “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory” and a “tragic mistake” in a statement. “No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant,” McCain said. “The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate.” House speaker Paul Ryan also...

The Senate on Wednesday took a symbolic shot at President Trump’s trade policy amid anxiety on Capitol Hill over his tariff strategy. Senators voted 88-11 to instruct lawmakers hashing out a deal on a government funding bill to include language “providing a role for Congress” on tariffs implemented for national security reasons, known as Section 232 of the trade laws. The vote is nonbinding, meaning lawmakers don’t have to add trade language into the funding bill. But the vote margin, with more senators supporting it than the amount needed to override a veto, underscores the depth of concern on Capitol...

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch may have offered a clue about who President Donald Trump will nominate to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, days ahead of the planned announcement on Monday. In a Friday op-ed article for Deseret News, a prominent newspaper in Hatch's home state of Utah, the longtime Republican lawmaker wrote a defense of the coming nominee amid a highly polarized and evenly split Senate. "Too much is at stake to allow politics to corrupt the Supreme Court confirmation process," Hatch wrote. "That's why in the coming weeks, I will lift...

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch may have offered a clue about who President Donald Trump will nominate to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, days ahead of the planned announcement on Monday. In a Friday op-ed article for Deseret News, a prominent newspaper in Hatch's home state of Utah, the longtime Republican lawmaker wrote a defense of the coming nominee amid a highly polarized and evenly split Senate. "Too much is at stake to allow politics to corrupt the Supreme Court confirmation process," Hatch wrote. "That's why in the coming weeks, I will lift...

Thirteen Republican Senators Are Demanding President Trump Halt Immigration Enforcement At The United States-mexico Border Until They Can Pass Legislation Closing A Legal Loophole, Perhaps Leaving The Border Open For Years. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) shared the heartwarming moment Saturday that Utah native Joshua Holt and his wife were reunited with his parents after two years of imprisonment by the Venezuelan government. Reunited. pic.twitter.com/Lb43PfEVXQ— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) May 26, 2018 Holt, a Mormon, flew to Venezuela to marry Venezuelan resident Thamara Holt, who he had met online. Venezuela has held Holt and his wife on weapons charges without a trial since 2016.Sen. Hatch first announced news of Holt's release on Twitter early Saturday.Holt’s parents, Jason and Laurie Holt, expressed their gratitude and eagerness to be reunited with their son.“As announced...

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) announced Saturday that the Trump administration has secured the release of Joshua Holt, 26, from captivity in Venezuela after he was held there for almost two years. BREAKING: Senator Hatch has secured the release of Utahn Josh Holt from Venezuela. #utpol pic.twitter.com/q9bPIVHgmk— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) May 26, 2018 Holt, a Mormon, flew to Venezuela to marry Thamy Holt, who he had met online.Venezuela claimed Holt had weapons in his new wife’s family’s apartment. He and his wife have been held without a trial since 2016.President Trump celebrated the development in some tweets Saturday as the newly...

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Monday “it's ridiculous" that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., reportedly does not want President Donald Trump to attend his funeral, and hopes the war hero has a change of heart. "I think it's ridiculous," Hatch told Politico. "Well, he's the president of the United States and he's a very good man. But it's up to [McCain]. I think John should have his own wishes fulfilled with regard to who attends the funeral." McCain’s closest family members reportedly informed the White House that the current plan is for the funeral to be held at Washington’s National Cathedral,...

Sen. John McCain should reconsider his wish that President Donald Trump not attend McCain's funeral, said Sen. Orrin Hatch, the most senior GOP senator. McCain prefers instead that Vice President Mike Pence attend his funeral rather than Trump, who has mocked McCain for being tortured and attacked him for voting against Obamacare repeal. But Hatch said he thought keeping the president from his funeral was too much: "I think it's ridiculous." Hatch said he does not expect McCain, who is battling brain cancer, to return to the Senate. "That's what I've been told,” said Hatch, who is 84 and retiring...

Women’s History Month. I’m all for it. We should celebrate anyone (like these fearless women) who’ve helped to positively shape the greatest nation on earth. And yes, my American exceptionalism bias will always show.Of course, in this day in age, it’s gotten a bit murky since anyone, apparently, can be a woman. Perhaps the historical designation has run its course. It’s increasingly being made irrelevant by a pseudoscientific ideology that denies there is any distinction between women and men. We’re all just the same. And we can all be the same, as long as we self-identify as anything we want...

@MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch, and has my full support and endorsement! 9:21 PM - 19 Feb 2018

More than two dozen Senate Republicans are urging President Trump to re-engage in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The 25 GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Trump on Friday saying they support his recent comments that he may consider U.S. participation if the 11-nation Asia-Pacific pact is improved.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch became a meme sensation overnight after a clip of him removing a pair of glasses he didn’t seem to be wearing went viral. Twitter and the rest of the Internet expectedly erupted into a frenzy. Loading... According to CNN, 83-year-old Hatch took off his invisibility cloak glasses during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Hatch seamlessly placed his spectacles next to him while continuing to speak in the committee hearing. The gif of Hatch raced its way across the Internet and people couldn’t get enough of it.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Senate Republican, announced on Jan. 2 that he would not seek re-election – ending weeks of speculation to the contrary. Hatch, an 83-year-old from Utah, said he would retire at the end of his term. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., also announced the same day that he would not seek re-election. Shuster, 56, told the Washington Examiner that he hopes to work with President Trump on an infrastructure bill before he retires. Multiple Republican lawmakers have already announced that they would not return to Washington after 2018. In general, fall retirement announcements are nothing new. On...

Outgoing Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Wednesday that former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney would have his support if he runs to take his place in the Senate. Hatch's remarks come a day after the 83-year-old senator announced his retirement. President Trump had urged Hatch to stay in the seat, reportedly as an attempt to block Romney from taking the Senate spot. "There's no question that he loves Utah and wants to support Utah any way he can. And I'm hopeful he'll run, because he would be just fine," Hatch said in a radio interview on Utah's Morning News program....

The longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history announced this week that he will finally, finally, finally, finally, finally, finally, finally retire. That's seven "finallys" -- one for each of the consecutive six-year terms Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, served. He begin his occupancy in 1976, when all phones were dumb, the 5.25-inch floppy disk was cutting-edge, the very first Apple computer went on sale for $666.66, the Concorde was flying high, O.J. Simpson was a hero, Blake Shelton was a newborn, the first MRI was still a blueprint, and I was a gap-toothed first-grader wearing corduroy bell-bottoms crushing on Davy Jones....